Chapter 229: Mother Yukari Doll
The sky had just begun to show a sliver of pale, fish-belly white over the horizon when a diligent fox lady at the Yakumo Residence had already crawled out of bed. Although Gensokyo had gradually stabilized over time, eliminating the need to actively maintain the Great Hakurei Barrier every single day, Yakumo Ran simply could not shake her bustling nature. Accustomed to a life of endless chores and careful management, having actual free time left her pacing the halls.
As she padded softly down the wooden corridor, passing by Haruto's room, Ran suddenly paused. A thin strip of warm, golden light spilled out from beneath his door.
"Knock, knock..."
She tapped her knuckles gently against the sliding paper door, keeping her voice soft. "Haruto-sama, are you still awake? Would you like me to prepare breakfast for you?"
Silence stretched through the hallway.
After a long moment with no response, Ran hesitated. She called out his name one more time, then gently slid the door open.
Haruto was indeed wide awake.
He sat hunched over in his ergonomic gaming chair, a heavy pair of headphones clamped over his ears. His desk was an absolute disaster zone, cluttered with various blocks of brightly colored clay—vibrant purples, stark whites, deep blacks, and striking reds—alongside a neat row of sculpting tools.
Ran stepped lightly into the room, approaching his desk.
Perhaps sensing the shift in the room's air currents, Haruto suddenly looked up. His gaze collided directly with a pair of gentle peach-blossom eyes hovering right over his shoulder. The sheer shock sent a violent jolt through his body. His hand jerked wildly, nearly sending the lump of clay in his palm plummeting to the floor.
"Ran, you scared the life out of me!" he grumbled, pulling his headphones down to his neck with a heavy huff.
"My apologies. Ran just wanted to ask if you would like me to prepare breakfast for you."
"No need." Haruto waved his hand dismissively, his intense focus immediately returning to the colorful lump in his hands. "I will be heading over to Eientei later. I can just grab a bite to eat when I get there."
Hearing this, Ran nodded, yet she made no move to leave. Instead, her fox ears twitched as she studied the bizarre, lumpy clay monstrosity resting in his palms.
"What exactly are you making?"
"Can you not tell?" Haruto looked up, his expression one of genuine confusion. He stared intently at Ran, who shifted her weight, suddenly unable to meet his expectant gaze.
She offered a tentative, highly diplomatic guess. "Is it... a monster from one of your video games?"
"What?!" Haruto thrust the doll toward her face indignantly. "This is Mother Yukari! Just look at the color scheme! Look at the powerful aura! Does it not look exactly like her?"
"...This is Lady Yukari?"
Ran gingerly accepted the clay piece. She stared at the nearly unrecognizable, abstract lump of colors, her eyelids twitching uncontrollably. The color distribution certainly matched her master's iconic attire, but aside from that, calling it a resemblance would be the greatest lie ever told in Gensokyo.
"It is... similar." Ran forced the two words through her teeth, desperately maintaining her polite composure as she handed the tragic sculpture back.
"Do not judge it by its current appearance. It might be a little rough around the edges right now, but that is only because I have not finished the fine details. Once I am done and apply my Turning Stillness into Motion ability, she will be Mother Yukari Number Two."
Haruto rambled on, his hands deftly molding and pinching the clay. He was so completely absorbed in his grand masterpiece that he remained entirely oblivious to the fact that Ran had quietly slipped out of the room, her place instantly taken by a far more imposing figure.
A few moments later, Haruto smacked his lips, feeling a sudden dryness in his throat. Without bothering to turn his head, he called out, "Ran, could you get me a glass of grape juice?"
A chilled glass of rich grape juice was promptly handed over from his blind spot.
Haruto took it blindly, downed half the glass in three large gulps, set it back on the cluttered desk, and dove right back into his sculpting.
Roughly ten minutes passed before he finally leaned back against his gaming chair, letting out a long sigh of utter satisfaction. He held the finished product up to the ceiling light, admiring his handiwork.
"Finished?" a voice asked smoothly.
Haruto was just about to relax and demand his usual shoulder massage when his entire body suddenly froze stiff.
The hands resting on his shoulders were entirely wrong. The technique was far too clumsy, completely lacking Ran's practiced, soothing rhythm. And that voice just now...
Haruto sat bolt upright, his spine rigid. He took a deep, steadying breath. "I just remembered I have a very urgent matter to attend to. I need to hurry over to Eientei right this second."
He tried to leap out of his chair, but those jade-like hands clamped down on his shoulders, effortlessly shoving him back into his seat with terrifying physical force.
Haruto turned his head by inches, his gaze meeting a pair of deep, captivating purple eyes. It was none other than Yakumo Yukari herself.
He offered a painfully awkward, stiff smile. "When did you get here?"
"I arrived right after Ran left." Yukari narrowed her eyes dangerously, her gaze shifting to the monstrosity on the desk. "Is this abstract sculpture supposed to be me?"
Haruto nodded bravely. "I plan to try applying the Turning Stillness into Motion ability to see if I can bring it to life."
A sharp, amused breath escaped Yukari's lips. "You do not honestly believe that if this thing comes to life, it will possess my level of strength, do you?"
Haruto let out a dry cough. "It is always worth a try."
"Trying is perfectly fine." Yukari's face was an unreadable mask as she reached out, plucking the ugly doll from his hands. Then, her demeanor flipped like a switched coin. Her features twisted into a fierce scowl as she pointed an accusing finger at the lumpy clay. "But are you absolutely sure this is supposed to be me?!"
"Hmm... does it not look like you?"
"Please remove the words 'does it not' from your vocabulary. Take a good, long look yourself. Aside from the colors being somewhat related to my aesthetic, where in the world does this resemble me?"
Prompted by her icy tone, Haruto carefully re-examined the doll he had spent all morning sculpting. Upon closer inspection, he realized there might indeed be a few structural issues.
"Forget it. Let me handle this."
Yukari let out a light, exasperated sigh. She glided over to the desk, pinched off a fresh lump of clay, and casually sat herself on the edge of a freshly opened Gap.
"You actually know how to do this?" Haruto asked, genuinely surprised.
"I am the Sage of Youkai, after all. I have lived for quite some years. How could I possibly not know a simple parlor trick like this?"
Yukari shot him a sharp sidelong glance, but her hands moved with stunning speed and precision. Her slender fingers danced over the clay, shaping, smoothing, and detailing. In less than ten minutes, a flawless, incredibly detailed chibi version of herself had taken shape.
"Here. Try using your ability on this one."
"Wow, I never expected Mother Yukari's hands to be so—ouch!"
"How many times must I drill this into your thick skull? Call me Yukari-nee." Yukari tightened her grip on her folding fan, her tone dripping with unmistakable threat as she tapped it against her palm.
"Yukari-nee."
A truly wise man knows when to yield and when to stand firm. Haruto decided it was best not to challenge a great youkai while she was armed with a weapon. He gingerly accepted the chibi doll and carefully channeled his spiritual energy, applying the Turning Stillness into Motion ability.
"It is alive!"
Watching the tiny clay figure twitch and shift its weight, Haruto's eyes lit up with unbridled excitement.
Yukari leaned forward, observing the little creature with genuine interest.
The chibi doll slowly pushed itself up from the wooden surface of the desk. It blinked its tiny painted eyes, locked onto the nearest target—Haruto—and suddenly launched a furious charge. It swung its soft, clay fists in a blinding flurry of miniature punches.
Thump, thump, thump!
The soft fists battered against Haruto's knuckles, lacking the force to even ruffle the fabric of his sleeves.
Haruto and Yukari exchanged a long, subtle glance.
Clearly, this adorable little creation possessed absolutely zero combat ability.
Haruto curled his index finger back, aimed carefully, and delivered a gentle flick directly to the doll's forehead. The tiny figure tumbled backward, rolling end over end twice before finally coming to a halt, lying completely motionless on the desk.
Haruto suddenly leaped out of his chair, practically vibrating with excitement. He pulled out a camera from his inventory, snapped a quick photo of the defeated doll, and then spun around, striking an incredibly smug pose for a selfie with the fallen enemy in the background.
"Today is a historic day, a day truly worth commemorating! After years of relentless effort and bitter struggle, Haruto has finally defeated the great demon lord Yakumo Yukari! I have successfully trampled the great demon lord beneath my feet!"
Watching him parade around the room, Yukari's eyelids twitched violently. She felt an overwhelming, nearly uncontrollable urge to drag her foolish little brother into a Gap and beat him senseless all over again.
Suddenly, as if a brilliant idea had just struck her, her anger evaporated. She picked the motionless doll up from the desk, examining its tiny features for a long moment. Slowly, the corners of her lips curved upward into a deeply mysterious smile.
Moving with practiced grace, Yukari quickly fashioned a simple swing frame out of spare materials on the desk, stringing the entire contraption together with a length of thin, durable rope. Then, under Haruto's utterly bewildered gaze, she stepped forward and personally draped the makeshift pendant around his neck.
She patted his shoulder with solemn weight. "You must take very good care of this doll. I made a slight modification to it just now. To some extent... it can protect your safety."
"Huh? How exactly is this thing going to protect me?" Haruto asked, looking down at the tiny figure resting against his chest.
He had assumed the doll would only ever serve as a useless, albeit cute, mascot. He certainly had not expected his sister to infuse it with actual protective magic.
"You will find out the next time you enter an instance."
Yukari offered no further explanation. Flashing him one last enigmatic smile, she patted his shoulder a second time and gracefully turned to leave the room, vanishing into the corridors of the estate.
Seeing that he was not going to get a straight answer out of her, Haruto shrugged, deciding not to pursue the matter further. He grabbed his coat and headed out the door, making his way toward Eientei.
What he completely failed to notice as he walked away was a subtle, chilling detail.
Right there on his chest, the chibi doll's painted purple eyes quietly blinked open, and its tiny clay hand twitched slightly against the fabric of his shirt.
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